Through the Years We All Will be Together
by Jediempress
Summary: Sora and Riku and their Christmas holidays together over the years. Some yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

My Christmas project for this year. Pretty simple but hopefully enjoyable. Yes, there are 12 following the actual 2 days of Christmas. Happy holidays!

No, I don't own 'em.

Please review.

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Sora: Age 5

Riku: Age 6

Blue eyes widened in disbelief. "Whadya mean you don't do Christmas?"

Riku shrugged a little as if it wasn't a big deal. He continued picking at the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had traded with Tidus for his own chicken salad. Every day, he traded his fancy, healthy sandwiches with whoever had the best looking pb and j. It usually ended up being Tidus; his mom had apparently perfected making the things because his always tasted the best. "We don't really do any holidays."

"What about your birthday?"

A strange look flitted across the silver-haired boy's expression. "What about it?"

"You have birthday parties, right?" Sora asked his new friend. They had met a few weeks ago on the playground at recess.

Riku had been sitting alone on the stone fence of the school yard and upon seeing him, Sora had asked if anyone knew who he was. Wakka had said the boy was in his grade but in the gifted classes and even though he was well-liked, he kept to himself for the most part. The younger child had decided right then and there that Riku was going to be his best friend.

"No."

"What?" Sora jumped up in shock. The very idea of not having a birthday party was a completely foreign concept to him. His mother made a big deal out of all holidays, especially Christmas and birthdays. "Are you kidding?"

Riku shook his head. "Why would I kid about that?"

"Why don't you?"

"I don't know," replied Riku, a frown pulling at the pale skin of his face. It had not been until last year when he first began attending school that Riku had even become aware that people did celebrate these occasions. "I asked Mom last year why and she just said we didn't do that kind of thing."

Sora's eyes brightened in that abrupt way that Riku had noted right away and was certain had to be a unique trait to the boy. "Well, you do now! I'm gonna teach you everything I know about Christmas!"

"I know about Christmas." Riku counted.

"Not the important stuff." The spiky brunet started listing things off on his fingers. "Like I bet you don't know how to decorate a tree or make Christmas cookies or making presents and getting presents or anything like that, do you?"

Riku looked down at his feet. No, he didn't know about any of that. He had been taught what the holiday meant, what its purpose was, but his mother had never gone into how people celebrated it. Since they didn't participate in those activities, why did he need to know?

But he wanted to know. He wanted to learn all about the things that people normally did at this time of year. He saw the decorated houses and yards and thought it could be fun to have his house done up also. Last year, he had heard the other kids talk about the gifts they had gotten and the games they had played with relatives that visited. He wanted to do these things, too.

"Come on!" Sora grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward the gate that let them out of the schoolyard. "We're going to my house and I'm gonna teach you everything!"

Riku let himself be dragged away and smiled. At first he had been a little uncertain about this spiky-haired brunet boy who tended to be on the hyperactive side. He had been even more uncertain about becoming best friends with him. Now he was glad Sora had burst into his life.

Somehow he knew that Christmas was going to become something special for their friendship.


	2. Chapter 2

Obviously, since there's only 12 of these there will be some skipped years. This was Sassy's idea; she gave me a lot of the ideas used in this series.

Review?

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Sora: 7

Riku: 8

"No, Riku! I'm not doing it!" Sora folded his arms and pouted heavily.

"You have to." Riku calmly continued gluing the branchy pieces of driftwood he had found to a headband he got from Selphie. "You lost the bet."

"This is stupid." The other boy protested. He waved a hand at the wagon that had been done up as a sleigh. "I know it's Christmas and stuff but…"

"You said that you would do what I wanted if I won." Riku finished the headband and turned toward his friend. Sora was already in brown sweatpants and shirt. "And since it's Christmas, I want you to be my reindeer and pull me home in the sleigh."

Blue eyes glared in defiance. "I'll dress as a reindeer but I'm not pulling you home in the wagon."

"So you're breaking your promise?" Riku knew that would get Sora to stop whining and do it. The pair had vowed to always keep their promises to each other no matter what.

The defiance left Sora and he sighed heavily. Well, no…"

"Good." Riku put the headband on Sora's head. It now looked like he had antlers. He stepped back and ran a critical eye over the younger boy. "Something's missing… you need a black nose!"

"What?"

Long silver hair shifted as Riku turned and searched the ground. He went over to a tropical flower display and took out a handful of damp soil. He smeared some on his fingers and quickly bounded back over to Sora.

"What are you-" Sora stepped back as Riku tried to grab his nose with his dirt-covered fingers. "Ugh! No, Riku!"

Laughing, Riku made a few more attempts. Sora evaded him for a few seconds but eventually Riku managed to catch him. He smudged up Sora's nose, not managing to make it black but darkening it up enough to be passable.

"There!" Riku's aqua eyes shined happily. "Now you can pull my sleigh."

Sora gave him a pained look. "Do I really have to, Ku?"

Riku climbed into the wagon. "Yes."

"Fine." Sora suddenly grinned. He jogged over to their bag of supplies they had used to make the 'sleigh', it was filled with old Christmas decorations, and picked it up. He rummaged in it for a minute and produced a Santa hat. He nearly skipped back over to the wagon and Riku. Thrusting the item at his best friend, he smirked. "Then you have to be Santa."

"Okay." Riku took the hat and quickly put it on his head. "Onward, my reindeer!"


	3. Chapter 3

I'm not getting review alerts for some reason so to all who have reviewed, THANK YOU!!! Please keep doing it.

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Sora: 9

Riku: 10

Sora stopped walking around the paopu tree and scrunched up his face. "Whadya mean there's no Santa?"

"I asked Mom about it." Riku continued draping the tinsel on the little peels of the tree's trunk. "She said the whole Santa Claus thing was made up. He isn't real."

"He is to real. Who else is leaving those presents Christmas morning? And who eats the cookies, huh?"

Riku shrugged. "Mom said that parents made up Santa and that the presents come from them. It's a big story used to make kids behave."

Sora made a noise and went back to stringing his strand of lights around the paopu's trunk. He was close to the large palm leaves of it now and wasn't sure how he was going to work the lights through them. "My mom wouldn't lie to be about Santa. And I don't see Tidus or Wakka or Selphie's parents would either."

"My mom doesn't lie about anything ever." Riku stated easily, an upset quality to his words. His mother was as direct and honest a person as he thought anyone could be. She was so much these things that she bordered on cruel. Sometimes, he wished she was more like other moms but somehow he knew that both she and he were very different from other mothers and sons and always would be.

"Yeah, but your mom is just…" Sora paused in thought. "She's just strange. I don't get her at all."

"I don't either but I know she's smart and if she says Santa isn't real then he isn't." The ten-year-old discontinued with the tinsel and looked over the tree. "I don't know how we're gonna get ornaments on here."

"Can we poke holes in these things?" Sora dropped the remained of his light string and moved to stand beside Riku. He began toying with the thin off-shoots that Riku had been placing tinsel on. "I bet I can get the hooks through these."

"I'll finish the lights then." Riku walked around the younger boy. He took up the abandoned strand and began weaving them through the breaks in the large, flat palms.

They worked quietly for a minute. "Hey, Ku?"

"Yeah?"

Blue eyes looked at him uncertainly. "Do you think your mom's right? That Santa is made-up?"

"Well…" Riku hooked the end of the lights and turned toward his friend. "They always say that Santa will only come if you believe in him, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have you ever seen anything that proves that he's real? I mean, your mom could have bought those presents and just said they come from Santa."

Sora carefully thought over that statement. "Yeah…. And she could be eating the cookies, too."

"Yep. There's no proof that he is real."

Sora was torn. He wanted to believe that Santa Claus was real; his mom wouldn't lie to him. However, in the two years he had been Riku's best friend, the older boy had never been wrong about something. Plus his mother was _extremely_ smart and didn't ever lie, not even those little white lies that the children had caught other parents in.

"And," A dark look flitted through Riku's eyes. "If Santa was real, why would he always skip my house? I'm a good kid, right?"

"Yeah!" Sora agreed. "You're awesome!"

"So why does he never come to my house? I believed in him."

Sora angled his head. "That is weird. I meant to ask Mom why he didn't come to your house."

"It's because he isn't real." Riku declared, no room for question in his voice. "Parents made him up and give you extra presents."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know but it's the only answer that makes sense." Riku sighed. "It doesn't matter. If he's real or not, you'll still get presents."

Riku walked away from the paopu tree. Sora watched after him with sad eyes. "Riku…"

The silvered one turned and his expression was clear. He smiled rather brightly and put his hands on his hips. "I like it."

Sora shook himself of his depression and bounded over to where Riku stood. He also looked over their Christmas paopu tree. Obviously there was no way to light up the lights but the sparkle of the sun on the tinsel made up for it. The few ornaments hung nicely. "Yeah!"

He jumped in excitement. "Let's show Kairi!"

"Yeah, I bet she's never seen anything like this." Riku nodded as the two headed across the bridge. "Or she doesn't remember it."

Sora laughed. "It's cool that we get to show her Christmas! I had so much fun teaching you about it!"

"Yeah, Santa or no Santa, this year is gonna be fun."


	4. Chapter 4

And here's where the real fun starts. Kinda.

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Sora: 11

Riku: 12

"Okay, boys." Seiya deposited the last bag on the floor. "That's everything we have."

"Awesome." Riku began digging through the one closest to him. Sora hadn't waited and had two of the five bags on the floor torn apart already. "Thanks for letting us have a party, Seiya."

"Oh, of course." Sora's mom smoothed Riku's hair. "You know I love Christmas and parties! I couldn't wait till you were old enough to want to start having them."

She stepped away from him and turned toward the kitchen. "Now I'm going to get started on the food so you two get going on the decorating. You have about two hours before your guests show up."

She disappeared and the boys continued routing through the items. Riku chuckled lightly as he removed a coil of garland. "I don't know why we're bothering to do this. Your house is already totally decked out."

"Yeah, I know." Sora moved on to another bag. "I just wanted to see if there was anything else we wanted out."

"I can't think of anything…" Riku paused as something caught his eye. He reached in the bag and pulled it out. "Oh, what is this?"

Sora looked over. "What's what?"

Grinning, Riku held his discovery up. "Mistletoe."

"I didn't know we had that!"

"We are so putting this up!" Riku leapt to his feet and began searching for a good place to hang the item.

"Wh-what?" Sora stuttered in disbelief. "Why?"

"Oh come on, Sora." The older male decided that the air vent grate near the front window was the best spot and looked for something to stand on so that he could reach it. "You're the one who told me what mistletoe was for."

"Well, yeah but," said Sora, a light blush coming to his cheeks. "You really think anyone's gonna want to do that?"

"Selphie will." Riku took the coffee table and dragged it over to the window. "And you know that Wakka has a thing for Nichole. There's a few other crushes, too."

"I guess so." The brunet pursed his lips. Actually, it might be kinda fun to have the mistletoe there. He didn't quite understand the appeal of girls yet but he heard a lot about them and he had to admit he was curious. Kissing was supposed to be a lot of fun and it would give him an excuse to-

"I wonder if I can get Kairi under here."

Sora's head whipped toward his best friend. Riku was balanced on the table and had stretched up to wrap the wire of the sprig of mistletoe around one of the vents. "You… you want to kiss Kairi?"

Riku shrugged awkwardly. His arms were still stretched above his head. "She's a pretty girl."

Sora had noticed that about his female best friend. Like it had been with Riku, Sora had instantly taken to the girl from the time he met her two years ago. Luckily Riku had also hit it off with her and the three were fast friends.

It should not have bothered him that Riku wanted to kiss Kairi under the mistletoe. She was his friend, too. However it did. A lot. He wasn't sure why.

Riku laughed, breaking Sora of his thoughts. He hopped off the table and pushed it back where it came from. "What's the matter, Sora? Afraid she'd like kissing me more than you?"

Blue eyes narrowed as Sora pouted. "I didn't say I wanted to kiss her."

"Oh?" Riku tilted his head. "Then why'd you get weird about it?"

"Uh…"

A strange look came to Riku's aqua eyes and he walked toward Sora. He placed his hands on his hips and leaning forward, smirked at Sora. "You want me to kiss you instead?"

"What?" The spiky-haired boy started. He shoved Riku away. "That's stupid, Ku. We're both boys."

"So?"

Flustered but he didn't know why, Sora made a face. "I don't want to kiss you, either."

Something sad flitted across Riku's expression but it was gone in an instant. He laughed again and went back to the bags on the floor. "I don't think there's going to be anything else in here. I'm gonna put them away."

"Okay."

As Riku left with the bags, Sora watched. When he disappeared, the smaller boy glanced up at the mistletoe hanging innocently in the window. He then looked back in the direction Riku had gone. Maybe it wouldn't be weird to kiss his best friend under the mistletoe…

…But which one?

Shaking his head of the strange thought, Sora heading for the kitchen to see if his mom needed any help.


	5. Chapter 5

Just a note before anyone gets upset with me: this is based on my universe so Sora and Riku? Just friends. Sorry if that gets any of you mad.

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Sora: 13

Riku: 14

"Hey, Ku?" Sora leaned back on the horizontal portion of the paopu tree. "Ya think they have Christmas on other worlds?"

"I don't know." The silver-haired teenager stated easily from his place on the grass near the base of the tree. He had out a notebook and was busily sketching out drawings of various vehicles. "That's one of the things we'll have to find out when we get to them."

"It would be cool to see how other places do Christmas." Sora noted idly, eyes fixed at the sky above. "I mean, look at some of the other islands here. They have some totally different traditions; I can't imagine what other worlds might have!"

"What if they don't have Christmas?" Riku asked. He paused in his drawing and angled his head in consideration.

"Then we'll just have to introduce them to it." The younger boy suddenly frowned a bit. "Unless they've got something cooler… then we'd have to figure out a way to combine them or something."

Riku glanced at his friend with a thoughtful expression. "I would think that you'd want to be here for Christmas."

"Well… kinda, yeah." Sora scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I'd want to be with Mom and all but…"

"But what?"

Blue eyes shined with an odd mixture of emotions. Riku couldn't make out each one of them. "This is gonna sound weird but… Christmas just isn't the same without you anymore. Like… unless your with me… it isn't really Christmas, you know?"

Oddly enough, Riku understood what the younger one meant. "I can't imagine having a Christmas without you either."

Sora swung his legs around and leaned forward. "So let's make a promise."

"Okay." Riku set his pencil down and turned to face his friend.

"No matter where we go, no matter what happens," Sora's voice was solemn. "No matter what, we'll always be together for Christmas. Promise?"

Riku smiled and held out his hand. "Promise."

Sora grinned back and slapped the older teen's hand. "Good!" He hopped off the trunk and sat in the grass beside Riku. "So let's figure out how we're gonna blow this joint."


	6. Chapter 6

Yes, it's this sad year. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming!

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Sora: 14

Riku: 15

Riku couldn't sleep.

All day he had done his best to keep busy, accomplishing a few small tasks that Maleficent had hinted wanting done. He had tried to ignore what day it was, told himself that the day meant nothing here and therefore should mean nothing to him, but it wasn't working. It was now late into the night, only a half hour from midnight.

He still didn't know how it had come to this. It had been two months now since that voice had told him to key to going to the outside world. He had opened that door in the Secret Spot and when he did, all hell had broken loose. He didn't care then what was happening; all that mattered was he now had the means to leave home.

He was ready to face whatever came his way and somehow knew that Sora would find him. Sora would come and the two of them would get Kairi and they would finally go to the far-off worlds they had been talking about for so long. He never thought about the details or how it was being accomplished.

But when Sora came, something was wrong. Sora hesitated. He was afraid to take that step into the darkness that would take them away. Riku held out his hand, waited for his best friend to take it… Sora had finally reached out but he was too late and they had become separated.

When Riku had finally found him again, Sora was different. He had also gone to new worlds and in the process, had made new friends. It had broken Riku's heart and filled him with anger. He threw himself into finding Kairi, doing whatever it took to find her first. Maybe then Sora would come back… but even now that Riku had Kairi, Sora stayed away.

Riku sat up angrily and rubbed at his face. He didn't know who he was angry at anymore, himself or Sora. Yeah, he knew he had made some mistakes but he always had the best intentions. He could fix them if Sora would let him.

Actually, it was Sora's fault things were this way. If he had just gone with Riku in the first place… If he had gone with Riku in Traverse Town… If he had…

Sighing, Riku dropped his hands upon the blanket. He looked out the window at the snow falling steadily. The phone Cloud had given him a few days ago sat on the windowsill but he made no move to pick it up. He knew he could call the man whenever he wanted but for some reason, Riku did not want to reach out to him.

The clock in the great hall began ringing out, it's heavy tone drifting up and throughout the castle. It was now officially Christmas Day. And Riku was sitting here in an uncomfortable bed in a strange place alone. He wondered where Sora was and if he even thought about him. Or was he too caught up with his new friends?

Riku supposed it didn't matter anymore. When he was really honest with himself, he understood it was both of their faults that they were worlds away from each other. He could have gone out to find Sora just as easily as Sora could have looked for him. Both had gone back on their words.

They had promised that no matter what, they would be together for Christmas.

--0—0—

_Dear Riku,_

_Merry Christmas. The others are in the hotel lobby, finishing dinner and trading stories about the holidays where they came from. I tried telling them about what we did back home but I couldn't. I don't know why it's so hard to talk about you now. Maybe it's just how things are between us now. I wish I knew what happen to us, Ku. I miss having my best friend. _

_I know you're taking care of Kairi as best you can. I hope you find a way to help her. I'm looking, too. Maybe it is better that we're apart. If we look in different places for an answer, we're more likely to find one, right? I tell myself that at least, try to stay positive, you know?_

_I don't know what you're thinking anymore, Riku. I'm starting to think maybe I never did. I thought I understood you…_

_Remember that promise we made last year? We said that no matter what we would be together for Christmas. I guess neither of us understood what that really meant, huh? Here we are, a year later and already the promise is broken._

_Well, all I can say is you're still in my heart, Riku. I don't know if that counts but it's something. I hope you're okay wherever you are today and that you aren't alone. No one should be alone on Christmas, even if they feel like they are._

_I guess I should go back with the others. I'm sure one of them will come looking for me soon. I just needed some time to myself. I used to love Christmas but this one… I told you it wouldn't be the same without you. I didn't know just how different it would be._

_I miss you, Riku._

_Merry Christmas_

_Sora_


	7. Chapter 7

I'm out of town so the updates will be off. I'm doing 2 today so PLEASE review both of you can. Thanks!

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Sora: 15

Riku: 16

"It's about time you showed up." Sora pouted as Riku entered the kitchen. "I think Mom was about ready to send me out to find you."

As soon as the words left Sora's mouth, he narrowed his eyes in concern. Riku's aqua eyes were shadowed, somehow dull and flat. "Riku…"

"I'm fine." The older teen announced easily. The tone of his voice and his appearance completely contradicted the statement. "Just slept lousy last night so I woke up late."

"You don't look like you slept at all." Sora argued. He moved away from the counter beside the oven where he had been about to snatch a cookie and walked toward his best friend.

They had only been home for a few months now and he, along with Kairi, had noticed that Riku had been getting steadily more depressed. This past month had been the worst. Not only was he depressed, he was withdrawing from the group and from the world in general. He would randomly disappear for days and then return with no explanation for where he had been.

When he came back, he would be more depressed than he had before he left.

Riku merely shrugged. He knew the others were concerned about him but he would be fine; he was determined to be so. "Don't worry, Sor. The past few nights with Sumire have been rough. She's on another one of her random fits."

Sora sighed. "Great. Not like you haven't had it hard enough since coming back. I don't know why she treats you like she does. She didn't even seem glad you were back when we came home."

His mother's distain and hatred of him was a mystery to his friends but Riku knew exactly what caused it. It was stressful to live in that house with her, knowing what he did about his birth and the reason she had helped create him. They never directly talked about it which may have made things easier but he didn't want to talk to her about it.

"It doesn't matter." Riku plastered a smile on and brushed past the shorter boy. "Has Seiya been baking all morning?"

Sora looked after him as he approached the cooling rack of cookies. He didn't want to just drop the subject because Riku really needed to talk more about the things that were obviously bothering him but he knew that Riku was not going to. Deciding to bring it up again later, Sora focused on happier things. "Yeah, there's cookies and cakes everywhere. She's at the market now buying more food for Christmas Day."

"Where does she plan to put it?" Riku picked up a wreath made of green colored corn flakes, marshmallow and red hots. "The fridge and freezer are already full."

"I know!" Sora joined his friend and nabbed an almond crescent. "But she says we have to go all out this year to make up for last year."

Riku stiffened a bit. He made a brief noise and closed his eyes. "Yeah…"

The spiky-haired brunet bumped his shoulder against Riku's. "It's over, Ku. We're all together again. We can't change what happened so let's just move forward."

Riku really wished it was that easy but he didn't voice that thought; he had hurt Sora enough. "Yeah, you're right. It's Christmas so let's be merry and all that."

Sora frowned. "Don't be sarcastic."

"I'm not." Riku picked up another cookie and popped it in his mouth. "So has she managed to find ways to get everyone over here Christmas Eve?"

"Yep, the gang will all be here at noon. Everyone's parents pretty much said that so long as they're home by five, it's cool." Sora grinned. "I think she promised them that their kids will be bringing home doggie bags."

"Well if she's cooking as much as it seems, there'll be more than enough." The taller teen turned away from the counter. "You figure out how you want the house decorated?"

"Oh yeah." Sora moved toward the hallway to leave the kitchen. "Mom decided she wants large bulbs on the house and wants us to figure out how to rig the palm tree so if looks like there's snow on it since we now know what snow looks like."

"Right," said Riku slowly. There was a faint buzzing from his back pocket and an odd look crossed his face. He pulled out his phone, glanced at the display and sent it to voicemail. As he re-pocketed it, that odd look became slightly pained.

"Who was that, Ku?" Sora did not like Riku's reaction. He assumed it was Riku's mother and he was ignoring her.

"Unknown caller." Riku informed him quickly. He used that statement a lot when he got phone calls or texts. He did not want to go into who really was trying to contact him. It probably wouldn't work for much longer judging by Sora's increasing suspicion but it was what he had for now.

"You get a lot of those."

"Yeah, my number must have gotten on a list or something." Riku sounded distracted.

"Well, you ready to go outside and decorate? Mom will be really happy to see that we got started while she was gone."

"Yeah," the older teen half-smiled. "Go get the stuff. I'm gonna snatch another cookie."

"Kay!" Sora agreed brightly. He headed down the hall, calling over his shoulder, "Grab me some, too!"

Riku waited a minute and pulled his phone back out. He ignored the voicemail for now and sent a text to his mysterious caller. He hated doing this because he wanted more than anything to be able to talk to his lover but he couldn't risk the call.

He knew he should just tell Sora and everyone else about his boyfriend but he didn't. He was too afraid that he would lose Sora if he told him he had been lying all this time. There was no way he could go through that and though he knew in his heart his logic was horribly flawed, Riku held onto his fear and said nothing.

It wasn't like Cloud was the only secret he was holding onto.

_Foolish child. _Fighting back the anxiety and paranoia, along with that voice that occasionally plagued him, Riku sent his text. It simply said that he was busy and he'd call later. He made sure to tell Cloud he loved him.

"Come on, Ku!"

He put away the phone and grabbed a handful of cookies. "I'm coming!"


	8. Chapter 8

Review?

* * *

Sora: 17

Riku: 18

"Do you think the strand of lights framing the shutters is too much?"

Sora stopped wrapping the lights around the tree trunk and moved out toward the street. He ran a critical eye over the front of the house and shook his head. "Naw, I think that should be it though. You have enough lights up that Cid should be able to see your house from orbit."

Riku attached the last of the strand and frowned. "You think it's too much?"

"Nope. It looks really good, there's just a lot of lights." Sora went back to the tree to finish the strand he was working with. "Hopefully we can get our tree idea to work. It's gonna be tricky to get the colors to line up right."

"Eh, if they don't it's not a big deal." Riku got off the ladder and dragged if over to the small tree of his front yard. He still could not believe he had a house with a yard… then again there were times when he couldn't believe he was now married. His life had changed drastically in the past year. "I'm just hoping the snow holds off until we're done."

"It should. Merlin is now saying late tonight."

"Good. We'll have this done by tonight."

Sora looked at his best friend as the taller young man positioned the ladder where he wanted it. It was incredible how much happier Riku was now days. Settling down had done Riku a world of good. It had been good for Cloud, too. Both members of the couple had really brightened up in the past year, becoming more active with everyone and not nearly so negative. It was wonderful to see.

A thought came to Sora and he angled his head. "Hey, Ku?"

"Yeah?" Riku did not stop working, going over to one of the bundles of lights on the grass.

"How come you aren't doing this with Cloud? I mean, it's you guys' house and all. Don't you think this should be… I don't know, a couple thing? Like, it's your first Christmas together in your new house…"

The silvered male paused, crouched down. He turned his upper body toward Sora and shrugged a little. "Actually, I asked Cloud if it would be okay if just you and I decorated. I told him that on the Islands, decorating your house was kinda our thing and it felt a little weird not doing it this year. He totally understood and said it was fine."

"Oh." Sora hadn't realized that their tradition of Christmas decorating had meant enough to Riku that he would ask his new husband to allow him to continue it. Yes, they had been doing it for years and it was their thing but he had figured that with their relocation to Radiant Garden that would end.

He was a little surprised how glad he was that it wouldn't.

"Cloud and I will create our own traditions." The older teen stated easily as he straightened up with one of the coils of lights. "Weren't you the one to tell me that new traditions were just as important as the old ones?"

Sora grinned. "Yeah, I was, wasn't I?"

"Goof." Riku smirked. "Now come on and help me figure this out. Zack will be here around six to help me make all those cookies I got volunteered for."

Sora snorted and began climbing the ladder. "Oh you know you'll love doing it, Mr. Housewife."

"Do I need to remind you that you're standing on a ladder that can very easily mysteriously fall?"

"Nope, now start handing me those lights. I think I know how we have to do this…"


	9. Chapter 9

Heh, figured it was about time they find out about this.

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Sora: 19

Riku: 20

"I can't believe no one told me about this before now!" Riku exclaimed in disbelief into his phone.

Sora, who had just walked into headquarters along with Zack, blinked. "Told you what?"

The sliver-haired young man angled the phone downward to address the newcomers. "Apparently, Cloud's an expert snowboarder. Both Tifa and Yuffie say that he's a total natural and taught them how to do it."

He switched his attention back to the phone. "I don't care why you had to; you knew I wanted to try it and didn't tell me you could!"

"Cloud can snowboard?" Sora looked to Zack for confirmation.

The ex-SOLDIER merely shrugged. "First I heard of it but he did come from a mountain town and it did snow a lot around there. It makes sense that he could."

"You're taking me. Tomorrow." Riku's voice held no room for argument.

"Me, too!" Sora shouted.

Riku shot his friend a grin. It was obvious that he was not nearly as upset as he was making Cloud believe. After a moment, that stern tone returned. "So what if it's Christmas Eve? We don't do anything during the day but prep for Christmas dinner and finish up any last minute things. We can get all of that done tonight and go into the mountains and snowboard all day tomorrow."

Zack chuckled in amusement as he headed upstairs to find some stored blue-prints. "I love how Ku just orders Cloud around like he owns him."

"He does own him." Sora laughed.

Riku glanced at him with a smile. He then returned to his call. "Oh, don't sound so put out, Cloud. You know it's going to be fun. No, we won't invite anyone else. It'll just be me and Sora."

As he said this, aqua eyes met with blue and Sora knew exactly what Riku was thinking. No, they would not invite anyone else but that did not mean they wouldn't tell everyone where they would be and what they were doing. Sora alone knew at least four other people who had expressed interest in learning the sport.

"Uh huh." Riku nodded with the words. "I love you, too. Bye."

He closed up his phone and turned toward Sora. "So, how many people can we drag out into the mountains at nine in the morning?"

"For a snowboarding lesson from Cloud Strife?" Sora laughed. "I think I can round up about seven."

"I know six who would go out." Riku folded his arms. "I bet Zack could find some people, too."

"Oh, you know what we should do? Tell Yuffie that Cloud wants her to assist him."

"Yes!"

"Cloud is going to kill you both." Zack declared as he came back downstairs with a rolled up blue-print.

The best friends shrugged easily. In unison, they simply stated, "At least we die together."


	10. Chapter 10

Hope you guys are having fun with these!

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Sora: 20

Riku: 21

Sora entered the kitchen and dropped down in one of the dining table chairs. "I'm screwed."

"Figuratively or literally?" Riku asked casually, not looking over from his shopping list for Christmas dinner.

"If I don't get this right, it won't be literally." The younger one sighed. "I have no idea what to get Penelo for Christmas."

Riku stopped writing and set his pen down. He turned around and leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. Sora had been dating the blond young woman for several months now. "You really are serious about her, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Sora nodded, a soft smile coming to his face.

Riku could not help but smile in response. He was happy that his best friend had found someone that he truly cared about; more importantly, that seemed to care about him back. Sora hadn't had too much luck in the dating department. "So what's the problem?"

"I just said it; I don't know what to get her!" Sora shouted in exasperation. "I've never had a girlfriend at Christmas before, at least not one I felt strongly enough to be worried about this. I went through all the usual ideas and none of them really fit her."

"Yeah, I understand that." Riku picked up one of the tins of fudge sitting on the counter and brought it over to the table. "Cloud and I had that issue in the beginning… Actually I think Cloud still has it. I know he usually goes to Leon when he has to get me something."

"I went to Leon." The younger man took a piece of fudge. "He gave me a few ideas; so did Zack. They both seemed to think I should do something romantic instead of buying a gift."

Snorting, Riku also got some of the candy. "It works on me every time. I don't think I've received an actual present from Cloud since we got married but I've cherished every gift he's ever given me."

"Really?" Blue eyes narrowed in thought. "And the doing stuff really means more to you?"

"Yeah, because I know that he put real thought and effort into it."

"Well…" Sora spoke slowly. "I did have this idea to put together a collection of items she's been saying she wants but that's, like… getting socks."

"If you throw in a bunch of other stuff, it won't be. Is there any jewelry or music or sweets that she's been talking about or eyeing when you're in the marketplace?"

"Actually… yeah, there was this candy that she said looked like something she loved on her homeworld!" Sora grinned. "I think I know what I want to do now. Can you help me put it all together?"

"Sure." Riku stood up. "I still need to do the shopping for Christmas dinner."

"Man, dinner is gonna be _massive_ this year!" Sora also got up. "What's the count right now? Twenty?"

"Twenty-two last I heard." The silvered male retrieved his shopping list. "I am so glad your mom is going to be here. Between me, her and Sephiroth we should be able to handle it."

"Yeah, and it'll keep Mom busy so she can't dissect Penelo."

"I have a feeling that Cloud is going to be sure that Penelo gets the full Seiya treatment." Riku laughed as they left the house. "He's been waiting to get a little payback for what you let her do to him."

"Great, better make sure Penelo's gift is really good then."

"I would."


	11. Chapter 11

Sora: 21

Riku: 22

Sora walked up to his best friend with his head angled down and uncharacteristic heaviness to his steps. "Hey, Riku."

Nodding, Riku continued watching his brother and Zack hover at the third floor windows of the castle, flying around to check the exterior of the building's integrity. "Leon wants us to take down the awning when Sephiroth and Zack finish up."

Actual work on the castle wouldn't begin until spring but the more information they gathered about what was going to have to be done, the better of a plan they could put together over the next few months. Today was probably the last day of decent weather for awhile so the two winged men decided it was a good day to take care of some of the surveying. It was cold out but dry, only a light dusting of snow and an occasional gust of wind.

"Okay." Sora wrapped his arms around himself. "It's cold."

"Really?" Riku's voice dripped with sarcasm as he chuckled dryly. "Never would have noticed."

Sora looked at Riku and worried his lower lip. Lately, he had been rather terse with his best friend due to some lingering feelings of ill-will toward Riku and Cloud after his sudden break-up with Penelo. It had taken Sephiroth to make him see just how bad it really was and he felt very guilty about his behavior. "Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna say I'm sorry for how I've been acting lately." The spiky-brunet rushed out. "I don't hate you and Cloud for being stable and happy. I know I've been acting that way but it's just that I'm kinda jealous that things have worked out so well for you and I just keep getting… well, it doesn't matter anymore. I just… I'm sorry."

Riku didn't look at him for several moments. When he did, he smiled softly. "You don't have to be sorry, Sora."

"Maybe but I still feel bad about it."

"I know you do. We all so how you were struggling but I knew in the end you'd be fine." The smile faded. "You've handled it far better than I ever could have."

Sora shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure things were cool between us for Christmas."

"Of course they are." Riku turned to face the castle and the pair working. "We promised; we'll always spend Christmas together."

"No matter what." Sora grinned.

"Yeah." The silvered male agreed. He then called out, "Wrap it up, guys! Leon wants that information filled before dinner!"

"Yeah, yeah." Zack shouted back as Sephiroth made a few notes and his notepad. "Me and Seph got things to do for tomorrow, too."

"Oh really? And what's that?"

"Can't tell." Zack laughed. There was a nervous quality to it. "Don't want it to get back to Leon and Sora's a blabber-mouth."

"I am not!" Sora pouted. There was definitely something comical about a twenty-one year old man pouting. "I outgrew that habit."

"Sora's matured a great deal this past year," stated Sephiroth, flicking his wings and drifting back.

"Thank you, Seph."

"Of course, he never will completely loose that childish-streak of his."

"Uhhh…. I don't know if I should be insulted."

"Don't be." Riku chuckled as Sephiroth and Zack landed nearby. "It's one of the things about you everyone loves."

"And Zack has that same streak." Sephiroth glanced at his friend. "Why do you think he still gets presents from Santa?"

"Cause Santa loves me!" Zack folded his arms proudly. "Unlike all of you people, I never doubted his existence!"

"Hey! Riku made me!" Sora protested. "And I still get presents, too!"

"Yeah, I totally forced you to stop believing in him." Riku rolled his eyes. Before Sora could reply, he went back to the original subject. "So you're getting Sephiroth to help you with Leon's Christmas present?"

Zack sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah, just, don't say anything, okay? I really wanna surprise him."

"Not a word." Riku held up his hands. Sora nodded in agreement. "We all have our surprises."

"Yeah." Zack chuckled nervously. He shook himself out of his mood and grinned. "Alright, well, we're done here so I guess we'll just leave you two to clean up!"

"Lucky us." Riku stated flatly.

"See ya!" Zack waved as Sephiroth nodded and the pair left the site.

"Let's hurry up and get this down." Sora bounded over to the awning and began dismantling one of the posts. "It's getting colder and I have to leave to pick up Mom in an hour."

"I'm hoping the snow stops before Cloud has to leave in the morning." Riku went to the opposite post. "Not that I'm worried about him flying but I know he doesn't like it."

"Yeah, it isn't fun." Sora casually added before jerking his head up to look at his best friend. "Where's Cloud going on Christmas Eve morning?"

Grinning widely, Riku chuckled. "He's picking up Sephiroth's Christmas present."

Sora studied him a moment then smiled widely. "Oh I can't wait to hear what it is."

"Actually, we can help me with a small snag in my plans. I'm gonna need a place for her to stay for a few hours…."


	12. Chapter 12

Last of the series, guys. (Some of you are gonna read this one and be "........."; if your familiar with my universe, it'll make more sense.)

Thanks so much for reading and keep reviewing, kay?

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Sora: 22

Riku: 23

"Zack, down." Sora commanded the young dog as he walked into the house. He held the box he carried to the side to avoid having it knocked from his hands.

"Zack." Sephiroth stated softly and the canine immediately put his head down and trotted into the living room. The winged man continued coming down the stairs, followed closely by his girlfriend, Natalia. "Hello, Sora."

"Hey, Seph. Hey, Talia." Sora greeted. "Where's Ku?"

"In the kitchen," replied Natalia. She and Sephiroth entered the small foyer and Sephiroth retrieved her coat. "We were just going out to get a few more things that it looks like we're going to be short on for dinner."

"The market was pretty empty when I passed through." The brunet informed them as Sephiroth held Natalia's coat out for her to shrug on.

"Good." Sephiroth nodded.

The couple left and Sora made his way to the back of the house. He stepped into the dining area of the kitchen and dropped his box on the table. Riku was tossing bags of vegetables on the counter near the refrigerator and did not seem to notice that Sora was there. "Hi, Ku."

"Hey, Sor." Riku sounded distracted but considering the past few days the silver-haired man had experienced, it was understandable. "You brought the back-up turkey, right?"

Chuckling, Sora began unpacking his box. "Yep, though I really don't think we'll need it. Both Cloud and Zack sound really confident about this frying the turkey thing."

"Yeah, well, the fact that they never mentioned it until this year worries me. How come they didn't decide they wanted to do it till now?"

"Showing off?"

"Yeah." Riku stood up straight and closed the fridge. "Which tells me they don't really know what they're doing."

"Oh relax, Riku." Sora advised, hauling out the back-up turkey that they were going to hide in the spare freezer outside. "Irvine knew what they were talking about so between the three of them it should be fine."

"Yeah, I know." Riku sighed. "I guess I've just gotten so used to be in charge of all of this that I'm having a hard time trusting others to do it."

"You are a bit of a control freak like that."

"It's gotten better!" Riku protested, flicking his lengthy bangs. "Two years ago, Sephiroth did a lot of the work and last year your mom handled most of dinner."

"Because she made you." Sora laughed. He set the turkey on the table. "It's okay, Ku. We all expect it from you and we know how much doing Christmas means to you."

The older young man glowered a little but he knew he had no argument. It had come to mean a lot to him to have his house as the focal point for the group's holiday activities. He was pretty sure that even if he and Cloud weren't the resident happily married couple, he'd still want to be the home that everyone came to. It probably had to do with his isolation as a child.

"Christmas always has been really important to me. It was the time of year I was happiest and that hasn't changed. Actually…" Riku smiled a little in embarrassment. "It means more to me now that I have a family of friends to share it with."

Sora pouted with humor. "Oh, so just me and Mom aren't enough, huh?"

"Oh, you know you're always enough." The taller one turned away from the pile of vegetables on the counter. "Christmas isn't Christmas without you. We did that once and I'm never doing it again."

"Me neither." Sora seconded. "And I'm glad Mom likes coming here every year. I miss her a lot more than I let on."

"I miss her, too. She's the only real parent I've ever known."

"Speaking of Mom, she's been baking cookies all morning with Axel." Sora removed a few tins from a plastic bag. "It's a little scary how well they get along."

"She still hinting that the two of you should get together?"

"Yes," muttered the spiky-haired male. "Apparently, since we're the only single guys around, we should totally hook up."

"Well he is a really good fuck." Riku noted with a smirk.

"If that _ever_ happens, I'm the one doing the fucking." Sora smirked back. "You're the uke, not me."

Riku snorted. "It's funny how opposite we are."

"Not really." Sora shrugged as he opened one of the cookie tins and brought it over to his best friend. "Two halves of a whole, remember?"

"Yeah." Riku took a cookie. "Stuck together forever… good thing we like each other."

"Yeah," agreed Sora. "It would really suck to have this kind of bond with someone I hated."

"Definitely."

"All right." Sora nabbed a cookie before tossing the tin on the counter. "Let's get this Christmas dinner going. Whadya want me to do?"


End file.
